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'File 1/A/38 I Negotiations with Bin Saud re:- Eastern boundary of Saudi Arabia with Qatar & Trucial Oman.' [‎53r] (110/452)

The record is made up of 1 volume (219 folios). It was created in 27 Oct 1934-24 Feb 1935. It was written in English. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .

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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY’S GOVERNMENT
EASTERN (Arabia). September 20, 1934.
CONFIDENTIAL. Section 1.
[E 5908/2429/25] No. 1
Record of Second Meeting with Fuad Bey Hamza, held at the Foreign Office on
September 20, 1934.
THE meeting was attended by-—
Mr. Rendel.
Fuad Bey Hamza (Deputy Saudi Arabian Minister for Foreign Affairs).
Sheikh Hafiz Wahba (Saudi Arabian Minister in London).
Sir Andrew Ryan (His Majesty’s Minister at Jedda).
Mr. Johnstone.
Mr. Rendel recalled that, at Fuad Bey’s request, it had been agreed on the
previous day to begin the present discussion by examining the problem of the
eastern and south-eastern frontiers of Saudi Arabia. As the Saudi Government
were aware, His Majesty’s Government were satisfied as to the continued legal
validity of the position established by the Anglo-Turkish Conventions of 1913
and 1914. They saw nothing to be gained, however, by pursuing the discussion
on purely legal lines if there were any other means of reaching a satisfactory
settlement; they realised that King Ibn Saud felt strongly on the subject; and
they considered that a friendly adjustment of the matter should be possible.
They were anxious for a friendly settlement of all outstanding questions with
King Ibn Baud, but, in the first place, they would like to know more about King
Ibn Baud’s own views on the frontier problem. His Majesty’s Government had
certain important responsibilities east of the C£ blue line,” which King Ibn Saud
had recognised. It was desirable to establish some agreed boundary in the region
in question; but, before going any further, it was necessary to have some idea of
King Ibn Baud’s desiderata.
Fuad Bey expressed his satisfaction at hearing that His Majesty’s Govern
ment did not intend to take their stand rigidly on what they considered their
legal rights. King Ibn Saud, he said, was not aiming at expansion, nor did he
desire to hold anything which he had not held before. The appeal of His
Majesty’s Government to the two Anglo-Turkish Conventions had, however, come
as a great shock to him. Those conventions had not been referred to on past
occasions, either at the time of the conclusion of the treaty of 1915, under which
the question of King Ibn Baud’s eastern frontiers was left open to further
discussion, or at the time of the negotiation of the Treaty of Jedda in 1927, when
King Ibn Saud had enquired about the relations of His Majesty’s Government
with the Arab chiefs of the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. , and had been furnished with copies
¥ a number of agreements, but not of these. Meanwhile, Fuad Bey was awaiting
details regarding the boundary line which King Ibn Saud wished to propose, and
he expected to receive these by Monday, the 24th September. Speaking generally,
he considered that King Ibn Saud would claim that those tribes who had long
been considered his subjects should continue under his rule, and that their
territories should be included in his dominions; he cited particularly the Murra
and Manasir tribes. To the south, he suggested that the Qara Mountains beyond
the Ruba-al-Khali might be a suitable boundary.
Mr. Rendel pointed out to him that the latter claim was a very far-reaching
one, as the Qara Mountains were close to the south coast of Arabia. It was clear
from Mr. Bertram Thomas’s journeys and maps that there was an extensive area
between these mountains and the Ruba-al-Khali, which appeared always to have
been part of the territory of Muscat.
Fuad Bey then mentioned another line of hills further north, and implied
that Ibn Saud did not wish to claim any territory to the south beyond the Ruba-al-
Khali; but the point was not pursued.
[206 u—1]
B

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Content

The volume concerns the Eastern boundary of Saudi Arabia with Qatar and Trucial Oman A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. (also referred to as the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ), and negotiations over the boundary between British officials and Ibn Saud (referred to also as Bin Saud) [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd, King of Saudi Arabia].

The volume contains reports and correspondence, principally from the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. in the Persian Gulf The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran. ; HM Minister, Jedda [Jeddah] (Sir Andrew Ryan); other Foreign Office officials; the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain; Bertram Sydney Thomas; and officials of the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. .

The papers include: extracts prepared by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. , for the India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. , from a report by Bertram Thomas on the Trans-Oman air route reconnaissance of May-June 1927 (folios 8-21); papers on Anglo-Saudi relations and records of negotiations between HM Minister, Jeddah and the Deputy Saudi Arabian Minister for Foreign Affairs (Fuad Bey Hamza [Fu’ād Ḥamzah]), July-October 1934 (folios 37-60); further papers concerning Anglo-Saudi negotiations; papers prepared by the Political Resident A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency. (Lieutenant-Colonel Trenchard Craven William Fowle) concerning Ibn Saud and the Yemen campaign, November 1934 (folios 74-77); a letter from the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Muscat (Major Claude Edward Urquhart Bremner), dated 23 October 1934, concerning the boundaries of Muscat Sultanate (folios 78-80); a Foreign Office note dated 19 December 1934 entitled 'South-Eastern Arabian frontier and United States Oil Concessions' (folios 122-124); papers relating to the Blue Line [a line drawn by British and Turkish officials in 1913 from the Gulf of Uqair to parallel 20 degrees North, in the Rub al-Khali]; and papers concerning tribal affairs (e.g. report by the Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Bahrain (Lieutenant-Colonel Percy Gordon Loch) entitled 'Tribal situation in the Hinterland of the Trucial Coast A name used by Britain from the nineteenth century to 1971 to refer to the present-day United Arab Emirates. ', folios 140-146).

The date range gives the covering dates of the correspondence; the earliest document is an enclosure on folios 8-21 containing extracts from Bertram Thomas's report on the Trans-Oman air route reconnaissance of May-June 1927, and the last dated addition to the file is an entry in the notes dated 25 February 1935.

Extent and format
1 volume (219 folios)
Arrangement

The papers are filed in chronological order from the front to the back of the file, except where enclosures of an earlier date are filed after their relevant covering letter, and terminate in a set of notes (folios 211-216).

Physical characteristics

Foliation: the main foliation sequence (used for referencing) commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 221; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is also present in parallel between ff 6-216; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled, and are located in same position as the main sequence.

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English in Latin script
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'File 1/A/38 I Negotiations with Bin Saud re:- Eastern boundary of Saudi Arabia with Qatar & Trucial Oman.' [‎53r] (110/452), British Library: India Office Records and Private Papers, IOR/R/15/2/157, in Qatar Digital Library <https://www.qdl.qa/archive/81055/vdc_100026566622.0x00006f> [accessed 29 March 2024]

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